This is a staggering waste given that the secure access to food is a
basic human right. Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights declares it is "the right of every man, woman and child…to have
physical and economic access at all times to adequate food". It’s a
noble aspiration but it’s clear that we are struggling to make that a
reality on a global scale. Figures just realised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations tells us that 815 million people remain undernourished. A sobering figure.

It’s no surprise then that how we produce enough food to feed a
growing human population (approximately eleven billion by 2100) while
protecting an environment under pressure has never been higher on the
agenda. Unfortunately, we can’t get away from the organic versus conventional
debate when we discuss food production these days and evidence suggests
that it is the wrong debate to be having

Research
indicates that organic systems require anywhere between 25 and 110
percent more land than comparable conventional systems and cause more
eutrophication of water bodies than conventional farming. When it comes
to crop yields, it really depends on the type of crop you’re growing
but, on average, organic yields are 25 percent below that of crops grown conventionally. There are other advantages of organic production though, such as increased soil quality and overall farm biodiversity.
But this is a debate that is going round in circles. There are
advantages and disadvantages to both systems and we’ll need to use the
best parts of all farming systems if we’re going to solve the global
food security crisis.

We need to have a different discussion. It’s now well established
that plant-based foods have the lowest environmental impacts and that
meat production (especially cattle and sheep) has around 100 times the
environmental impact of plant-based food. We need to discuss a dietary
shift from beef to pork or from meat to plant-based food. That’s the
debate we should be having. Going organic has some environmental
benefits, but that’s negligible compared to the benefits of a dietary
shift.

Former president Mary Robinson suggested
last year that adopting a vegan diet would reduce our carbon footprint
(cue wailing and gnashing of teeth from farmers organisations). Pope
Francis recently suggested a similar "change in lifestyle" when speaking at a World Food Day event.

We’ve also got to consider the potential role of genetically
engineered crops and crops that have had their genome edited using such
techniques as CRISPR. The technology is now available to make photosynthesis more efficient.
As the driving force for life on earth, improving photosynthesis could
be the key to improving crop yields in a sustainable manner.

CRISPR, a technology that that has far-reaching consequences beyond
plant biotechnology, allows scientists to precisely engineer even single
letter changes in a plant’s genetic code. This can be done without the
need for transgenic DNA, making it radically different to the now
conventional forms of genetic engineering which, though leading to huge
advances in crop production worldwide, remain a controversial topic in
Ireland and most of Europe as this recent Irish survey shows.

These tools join conventional and organic methods in a farmers
tool-box. It seems unreasonable that with such challenges to overcome,
we often opt to do so with one hand tied behind our back. We now need a new green revolution for the 21st century.

In 1708, the English cleric and economist Thomas Malthus
wrote that the "premature death" of the human race was inevitable given
the power of population increase over the ability to provide food for
these new people. Despite his scaremongering, we’ve obviously overcome
these challenges and seen dramatic increases in food production and
human population over the last two centuries.

Much of the yield increase has been due to the adoption of (at the
time) novel tools for plant breeding and cultivation – the so-called
‘green revolution’. We now need a new green revolution for the 21st
century. A green revolution that is not limited by ideology but uses all
proven and safe technologies available to boost yields while protecting
the environment.

It's just a little bit of science!

Welcome to Communicate Science.I'm a plant scientist, so expect lots of plant-related posts but also lots on science in general and science communication.Enjoy!

Contact: communicatescience1@gmail.com

All content, unless otherwise stated, is copyright of Communicate Science and should not be used without prior consent.Opinions expressed on this blog represent my own views and not those of my employer. Any comments on posts represent the opinions of visitors.

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I'm passionate about the need to enthuse, inform and engage everyone in society about science.
I'm a full-time researcher and lecturer and a part-time blogger. I'm interested in all things to do with science. In particular, education and communication of science - especially biology.
This blog represents my personal views.